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  • Merkur XR4ti: Limited Slip Differential
    		•
    Andrew Totolos installs a limited slip differential on an American car with German roots — the turbo-charged Merkur XR4ti.
    From "Tricked Out"
    episode DTRK-405


    (Continued from page 1)

    PHOTO

    Removing the open differential.
    Remove Open Differential

    Materials and tools:

    standard mechanic's tools
    transmission jack
    pieces of scrap wood

    Steps:

    Pulling out the differential on a rear wheel drive car is not very difficult. First, you'll want to make some room by cutting the muffler loose.

    • Remove the bolts that connect the driveshaft to the differential at the front of the housing.

    • Use a crowbar to work the driveshaft away from the differential, and let it drop out of the way.

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    • Unbolt the axle stubs from the sides. The bolt heads are easily stripped. If that happens just tap a slightly larger bit into the head and it will come out.

    • The axles on the project car are badly worn, so they'll be removed and replaced with some heavy-duty axles.

    • The wheel side of the axle is secured just like the differential side. Once the bolts are removed, pull the axle out and catch up the driver's side.

    • Now that the driveshaft and the axles are out of the way, it's time to concentrate on the differential. Before pulling the differential out of the car, break loose all the cover bolts and the drain plugs. It's much easier to do now than when the differential is loose on the bench.

    • There are two hidden bolts in the differential mount that need to come out next.

      PHOTO

      Figure A

    • Unbolt the mount from the car, and after the differential drops down, pull the mount free from the differential.

    • To support the differential, bring in a transmission jack with some scrap pieces of wood stacked on top. Raise it up to relieve the tension off the front mounting bolts (figure A).

    • At the front of the Merkur differential there is a standard bolt at the bottom, plus a long through bolt with a nut that has to be held on the other side. There's also another bolt at the top to remove before it's possible to get the remaining bolts on the other side.

    • Carefully drop the transmission jack to lower the differential out of the car.



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  • ALSO IN THIS EPISODE:
  		• Merkur XR4ti: Limited Slip Differential